Step Up Parents’ Newsletter Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 
Step Up Parents
 

Step by Step

Newsletter 7 | October 2022

With colder weather around the corner and the rising cost of home heating fuel and other utilities, we are very aware that staying warm will be much more difficult this year. Step Up Parents is working hard to be a resource for kinship caregivers facing not only the emotional and physical responsibility of raising the kinship children in their care, but the financial challenges as well. We are ready to help!

 

Hero Spotlight

This month, we are honored to shine the hero spotlight on Donna, a 60-year-old grandmother who is raising three young grandsons whose biological parents struggle with substance use disorder.  Two of the boys have ADHD, and one has autism spectrum disorder. Donna is disabled and suffers from many health problems, and doctor bills are an enormous struggle. The family does not own a vehicle, and weekly transportation costs are high.

Most of our kinship caregivers are grandparents, like Donna, who are raising children later in life.  They are often on fixed incomes, with few financial resources to fill the gaps in their family budgets.  Step Up Parents was more than happy to help Donna with a Walmart gift card for personal items for the boys and Visa gift cards for medical expenses.

Donna has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to her grandsons by welcoming them into her home and offering them security, stability and love every single day. We appreciate Donna’s willingness to share a picture of her beautiful grandchildren with you, as well as her words of gratitude for the work that we do at Step Up Parents.

"Dearest Step Up Parents, here are two of my boys that I am raising. We are all so very grateful and thank God for everything. You have truly renewed my faith in humanity. Thanks so much from the bottom of my and my grandson's hearts.”

Thank you so much, Donna, for all you do for your family.
 

Our Families

In 2022, Step Up Parents has experienced a huge increase in the number of applications received and the dollar amount of financial assistance requested. We have helped over 145 families and given over $75,000 in assistance this year. Because of our generous donors, we have fulfilled every application that meets our criteria. We are most proud of this accomplishment and what it means for struggling  kinship families.

 

New Board Member

We are so happy to announce the newest member of to our board or directors. Deb Anthony is joining our team. She recently retired after a long and illustrious career in the nonprofit world, serving as Executive Director at Gather for the last eight years. Her wealth of experience will be an invaluable asset to our organization. Welcome, Deb!

 

In the News

Step Up Parents was humbled to be featured in a moving cover story in the latest issue of Parable Magazine. The article highlights three kinship families we have assisted in the past three years. We appreciate the openness of Lauren and Joseph Rollins, Elle Rogers, and Shannon Lavertu as they shared the powerful stories of their journeys from grandparents/aunts/uncles to kinship caregivers. If you would like a copy of the article, please contact us at info@stepupparents.org.

β€œAs a relative caregiver, you're already stigmatized,” said Shannon, who cares for two of her niece's children and two adopted boys who came from households with substance misuse. β€˜What did you do wrong as a parent that your kids can't take care of their kids?’ Is the attitude some people have.”
 

Our Donors & Supporters

We held our Annual Appeal in September, National Kinship Caregiver Month, and it was a huge success. For the first time, we were able to offer a $5,000 matching program and, thankfully, our donors took advantage of these funds to double their impact. To date, we have collected over $18,000 from our appeal. Many of our donors have been with us from the start and truly made Step Up Parents a reality. To all of you who have partnered with us, we say THANK YOU! Your generosity is appreciated more than words can say and helps sweet children like this adorable little boy being raised by his grandmother.

Thank you to the following funders. We can’t do it without you!

Kennebunk Savings Bank Foundation awarded us a $10,000 grant through its Spotlight Fund. This funding will allow us to start offering assistance to Maine kinship families in 2023.

Thank you to Members First Credit Union for joining our team. Their $2,500 donation will help us assist many families in the Manchester area.

We are so excited that KRB Kitchen and Bath Design Center renewed their corporate sponsorship again this year.

Step Up Parents was proudly selected by Fedpoint employees as its charity of choice in the month of August. We are so grateful for their $1,500 donation.
 
 For more information or to donate, click here. 
 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media!
 

Step Up Parents, 29 Rockingham St., Portsmouth, NH, United States

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